Precisely the pustza, magical green expanse where the eye is lost in the boundless space and the hunting dreams become real life experiences, has been the scene of a wonderful roe deer hunting trip in Hungary.
Hungary is a famous hunting destination, both to educate new ball hunters to noble Central European rites and to give experienced hunters unforgettable days.
I remember the days spent on that charming lowland with pride and a pinch of nostalgia. If I just close my eyes, the images chase each other in my mind like in a movie and I feel like I’m back there…
He seemed too clever for us, that old male. He had chosen his temporary refuge in a large depression of the ground cluttered with weeds more than a meter high, to escape our pursuit that lasted more than an hour.
We were in the middle of a small swamp, as there are many in the Hungarian pustza near the Romanian border, and we could not, because of the water and the mud, approach less than a hundred meters without the risk of sinking.
If we approached him from the right, he exited to the left; if from the left, he exited to the right, and then returned to his refuge after a long turn: evidently he had understood that that position was impregnable.
We had, therefore, to activate all the experience and cunning of consummate hunters to challenge the little deer.
We park the off-road vehicle in full wind to the north, so that the outpouring of diesel mixed with our smell does not reach directly to the nasal reed of the roe deer; the companion walks towards the left side of the swamp to the west and I, prepare myself, placing the bolt action rifle to the stick on the right side – to the east – and I remain waiting, motionless and silent.
Despite the screams of the gamekeeper the roe deer does not appear. I wait to see that red goblin coming out at full speed at any moment… and nothing!
As I scrutinize the herb limit right in front of me, I notice an imperceptible movement to my left, south of the swamp, right where we started to begin the hunting action.
Here he is! Watching and very slow, he faces among the reeds a hundred meters from me, smelling and considering that grove about half a kilometer towards which it will certainly head.
I prepare, but as soon as I put the fore-end iron on my shoulder, the roe deer squirts towards the woods, crossing the plain at full speed; I am ready to honor the shrewd wild, but he unexpectedly stops halfway and turns to look on our side.
Grateful for the opportunity that is given to me, I start the .270 Win shot, who reaches him in the middle of the pustza.
On the night of that day of roe deer hunting in Hungary we change zones.
May fills the air with extraordinary scents: the intense scent of chamomile, which inebriates while it is collected by the gypsies with the appropriate rakes and reminds me of when I was a child and my mother forced me to drink the infusion, the impalpable one of the yellow flower and of the forage herbs, which flood like a golden sea hectares and hectares of land in which the roe deer chase each other and hares “dance” in the mating rituals.
Among the fields of alfalfa comes the antler of some crouched roe deer, which invites us to a cautious approach in the hope of reaching the right distance.
Sometimes they flatten on the ground, other times they get up and, after a few moments of amazement, they start at great speed and then stop, a hundred meters ahead, to identify the pitfall. Some, the smartest, continue their run until they disappear into a grove or an intricate hedge.
Roe deer hunting in Hungary in the spring season lasts until late, because even the sun here wants to enjoy the show as long as possible.
Shortly before, I managed to hit a good male semi immersed in alfalfa on the 300-meter line – head and neck and part of the croup were sprouting. The tall grass, moving like a blowing wave created by the bullet of my bolt action rifle, allowed me to trace the shot to the target.
I have had many hunting experiences with my Horizon Black Synt, a precise, reliable and lightweight rifle – its weight in .270 Winchester caliber stands at 2,990 Kg, ideal for stalking days, when even after hours of walking it is still light on the shoulder.
During a day of roe deer hunting in Hungary, usually around ten o’clock in the morning, the activity is suspended: the roe deer, come out before dawn to the pasture, retreat in the cool of the woods or crouch in the meadows.
During a day of roe deer hunting in Hungary, usually around ten o’clock in the morning, the activity is suspended: the roe deer, come out before dawn to the pasture, retreat in the cool of the woods or crouch in the meadows.
So we just have to go back for breakfast, after which, if we are not too tired, it is worth diving into the thermal water pools of which Hungary is rich.
The spa area closest to our hunting area is Fuzesgyarmat, where we often go to enjoy the waters at 42 degrees, more for their strong smell of truffle that stimulates our gourmet fantasies than for the actual benefit that comes from it.
At that moment I think: “Tonight we could try a game recipe accompanied by excellent truffles!”
At four o’clock in the afternoon we leave for the Mark area, full of groves interspersed with high grass plains and flooded meadows.
Who knows what surprises we will still have that day immersed in the Hungarian puszta. That lowland surrounded by mountains and far from the sea, theatre of wonderful hunting experiences is truly a joy for the eyes and the heart.
